Benjamin Bonneville

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Benjamin Bonneville
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
AllegianceUnited States
Union
Service/branchUnited States Army
Union Army
Years of service1815–1861 1861-1865
Rank
3rd U.S. Infantry
Department of New Mexico
Battles/warsMexican–American War
Civil War

Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville (April 14, 1796 – June 12, 1878) was an American officer in the

American West. He is noted for his expeditions to the Oregon Country and the Great Basin, and in particular for blazing portions of the Oregon Trail
.

During his lifetime, Bonneville was made famous by an account of his explorations in the West written by Washington Irving.

Early life

Benjamin was born in or near

publisher Nicholas Bonneville and his wife Marguerite Brazier. When he was seven, his family moved to the United States; their passage was paid by Thomas Paine. Paine had lodged with the Bonnevilles in France and was godfather to Benjamin and his two brothers, Louis and Thomas. In his will, Paine left the bulk of his estate to Marguerite who had cared for him until he died in 1809. The inheritance included 100 acres (40.5 ha) of his New Rochelle, New York farm where they had been living, so she could maintain and educate her sons.[1]

Early career

In 1813 Bonneville received an appointment to the

second lieutenant of light artillery. In his early career, he served at posts in New England, Mississippi, and at Fort Smith in the Arkansas Territory
.

In 1824, he was taken to

Jefferson Barracks in Missouri
.

While in Missouri, Bonneville was inspired by the writing of

Thomas Hart Benton) to join in the exploration of the American West. Bonneville met with Kelley, who was impressed by him and appointed him to lead one of the expeditions to the Oregon Country
; it was scheduled to leave in early 1832. The lack of volunteers for the expedition forced the delay and eventual cancellation of the expedition, leaving Bonneville unrequited in his ambitions.

To pursue his desire to explore the west, he petitioned General

fur trader and find out the natural history of the region, its climates, soils, geography, topography, mineral production, geology, and the character of the local tribes. Expenses for his exploration were paid by private donors, including Astorian Alfred Seton and possibly John Jacob Astor.[2]

Marriage and family

Bonneville married and had a daughter with his wife. After both his first wife and daughter died, he did not remarry until after retiring from the military in 1866, when he settled in Fort Smith, Arkansas. There he married Sue Neis.[3]

Expedition of 1832

The expedition that would be known as the most notable accomplishment of his life began in May 1832, when Bonneville left Missouri with 110 men, with field lieutenants

Green River in August and built a fur trading post,[2] which they named Fort Bonneville. The mountain men called it "Fort Nonsense" and it was never used for trading.[2]

In the spring of 1833, Bonneville explored along the

Gourd Rattler (Washakie) and Pahdasherwahundah (Iron Wristbands); Enos later served as a scout for the Fremont expedition.[4]

He also sent a party of men under

California Gold Rush. Much speculation has surrounded Bonneville's motivation for sending Walker to California. Some historians have speculated that Bonneville was attempting to lay the groundwork for an eventual invasion of California, then part of Mexico, by the United States Army
.

John McLoughlin, the director of the Columbia operations of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, heard of Bonneville's mission. He forbade his traders from doing business with Bonneville and his men. Bonneville reported that many of the Native Americans he encountered in the Snake River were also reluctant to displease the Hudson's Bay Company by trading with the Americans.

In the summer of 1833, Bonneville ventured into the Wind River Range in present-day Wyoming to trade with the Shoshone. By this time, he realized that he would not be able to return east by October as planned. He wrote a lengthy letter to Gen. Macomb summarizing some of his findings and requesting more time, specifically to survey the Columbia River and parts of the Southwest before his return.

Trying to reach Oregon

Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville

After spending the early winter at

Nez Perces along the Imnaha River
.

On March 4, 1834, they reached

Pierre Pambrun, the HBC commander of the fort, welcomed him but refused to do business with him. Empty handed, Bonneville and men retraced their course back to southeast Idaho and made camp on the Portneuf River
.

In July he made a second trip west, determined to trade with the Hudson's Bay Company. He followed an easier route across the

Sahaptins
but without success. He came to realize that he would probably receive the same rejection from McLoughlin at Fort Vancouver and decided to turn back east.

He spent the winter of 1834–35 with the Shoshone along the upper Bear River, and in April 1835 began the voyage back to Missouri. He reached Independence by August and discovered that although his letter requesting an extension had arrived, it had not been delivered to Macomb. In the meantime, his commission had been revoked.

Washington Irving

Bonneville journeyed east hoping to be able to recover his commission. On the way to Washington, D.C., he stopped in New York City where he was received by his patron John Jacob Astor. While staying with Astor, Bonneville met Washington Irving. Bonneville regaled Irving with tales of his adventures, tales that Bonneville planned to include in a book he was working on.

A month or two later, Irving visited Bonneville again, at the D.C. barracks where the latter was staying. Bonneville was having difficulties writing his adventures. The two of them agreed that for the sum of $1000 ($27,745 in 2023 dollars [5]), Bonneville would turn over his maps and notes so that Irving could use them as the basis for his third "Western" book. The result was The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, published in 1837.

More military service

In Washington, Bonneville petitioned tirelessly to

3rd Infantry Regiment in 1855, and twice commanded the Department of New Mexico
.

Bonneville retired from active service in 1861 but was soon recalled to duty during the Civil War. From 1861 to 1863 Bonneville served as superintendent of recruiting in Missouri, and from 1862 to 1865 served as commander of Benton Barracks in St. Louis.[6] At the end of the war he was breveted as a brigadier general in honor of his long and distinguished career.

He retired a second time in 1866 and moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he married a second time, to Sue Neis.[3]

Brevet Brigadier General Bonneville died at age 82 in 1878. He is buried in

St. Louis, Missouri
.

General Bonneville was eligible to join both the Aztec Club of 1847 and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, which were military societies for officers who had served in the Mexican War and American Civil War respectively but did not join either organization.

Dates of rank

  • Cadet, United States Military Academy – 14 April 1813
  • Brevet 2nd Lieutenant, Light Artillery – 11 December 1815
  • 2nd Lieutenant, 8th Infantry – 10 March 1819
  • 1st Lieutenant, 8th Infantry – 9 July 1820
  • 1st Lieutenant, 7th Infantry – 1 June 1821
  • Captain, 7th Infantry – 4 October 1825
  • Dropped – 31 March 1834
  • Reinstated – 19 April 1836
  • Major, 6th Infantry – 15 July 1845
  • Brevet Lieutenant Colonel – 20 August 1847
  • Lieutenant Colonel, 4th Infantry – 7 May 1849
  • Colonel, 3rd Infantry – 3 February 1855
  • Retired – 9 September 1861
  • Brevet Brigadier General – 13 March 1865 [7]

Namesakes

Bonneville's namesakes include:

See also

Further reading

Irving, Washington (6 February 2018). The Adventures of Captain Bonneville: or Scenes, Incidents, and Adventures in the Far West. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

ISBN 978-1-985076-49-5
.

References

  1. ^ "Will of Thomas Paine" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e Ontko, Gale. Thunder Over the Ochoco, Volume I: The Gathering Storm, Bend, OR: Maverick Publications, Inc., 1997
  3. ^ a b "History" Archived March 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, The Bonneville House, accessed 3 September 2011
  4. ISBN 0-89288-248-4
    Bend, OR: Maverick Publications, Inc., Fourth Printing, August 1997.
  5. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  6. ^ Eicher p.137
  7. ^ Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1789–1903. Vol. 1. pg. 230.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville.
Wikisource has the text of a 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article about Benjamin L. E. Bonneville.
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